


Finally

by jqueen17



Category: Phan
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Marriage, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-18
Updated: 2016-02-18
Packaged: 2018-05-21 09:19:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6046240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jqueen17/pseuds/jqueen17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another first for me; an engagement/marriage Dan and Phil AU:)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finally

**Author's Note:**

> I hope all of you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it:)

Phil  
I will be the first to admit that things didn’t typically go the way I wanted them to. Like, ever. But this was getting ridiculous.  
I’d been planning a way to propose to Dan for weeks now. Louise and Jack had helped me pick out rings and everything; simple gold bands with a simple inscription of forever and longer on the inside for the actual wedding rings, and a matching set of diamond and ruby engagement rings. They had been expensive, but I had been secretly saving the money up for about a year. Dan, as far as I knew, had absolutely no idea. I had been sure to hide the money, only saving cash and not touching our joint bank account (well, at least for the rings-I still spontaneously bought socks and stickers and houseplants and stuff). Dan was oblivious, which was a huge feat itself; all of our friends knew, and I had threatened each of their lives if they slipped and blurted something in front of him. I wasn’t a death-threat type of person, so they knew I was serious.  
But every time I had tried to propose, something got in my way. It was like the universe was acting against me, personally. It sounded ridiculous, but let me tell you-it’s even worse than it sounds.  
It all started four days after I bought the ring. I wanted to make the proposal perfect; Dan was that type of person, the kind that obsessed over little intimate details of their lives. Like proposals and weddings, for example.  
I was in my room, pacing back and forth, reciting what I was going to say to myself while Dan got dressed. I was taking him out to dinner at his favorite Japanese restaurant, and I could picture his reaction when I got down on one knee and asked him to spend the rest of his life with me.  
He looked amazing, as always, even wearing colour today. He was in a great mood, joking and laughing and making my heart melt twice as much as usual. I’d called ahead of time to get us a perfect spot, right in the middle of the restaurant, because I knew Dan would love it when people applauded, and would be even more surprised that I had been confident enough to propose in front of all those people. It would make a great story, and I knew Dan wanted a great story to tell.  
We were sat at our table, eating our food and laughing about a story Dan had just told, when I stood, about to kneel in front of Dan. I was literally about to start my speech when a waiter walked by. It may not sound like a big deal…except that he didn’t exactly walk by me-he walked OVER me. He collided with me at a faster velocity than any person who was balancing teetering stacks of trays should have been going, and we both stumbled forward, sending the trays flying.  
At Dan.  
Before I knew what had happened, his nice blue shirt was covered in noodles and his hair was soaked in water. The waiter apologized, telling us we wouldn’t need to pay the bill of our food, and I led Dan out, more flustered than he was.  
“Wow, you stand and like a magnet, CRAZY,” Dan laughed, smacking his hands together when he said ‘crazy’, emphasizing the waiter slamming into me. I laughed along with him, probably appearing perfectly normal, if a little embarrassed.  
Little did Dan know, I had died a little inside.  
I told my people what had happened, and PJ in particular could not get over it.  
“This could only happen to you, Phil!” He cackled, and I shot him a glare as everyone else nodded sympathetically.  
“Maybe try somewhere quieter?” Louise suggested, and I nodded, coming up with my next proposal plan. I decided on the park. It sounds cheesy, but hey; it was quieter, and it was going to be at night, which made it romantic as well. I simply asked Dan if he wanted to go for a walk, which was vague and mysterious and made his eyes light up with wonder. Walking with Dan was nice anyway, because he held my left hand in his right and ran his thumb over my knuckles and it was just…nice. We were quiet this time, but the atmosphere was perfect, and I turned to Dan, still holding his hand and my heartbeat speeding up. He looked confused, and I was wondering why when I realized he wasn’t looking at me, but over my shoulder.  
“Phil, do you hear that?”  
I did. It sounded like a rumbling, buzzing pack of bees, and I began to literally panic when I made out a large, moving shape in the gloom. It wasn’t bees. It was-  
“Dogs?” I question, and a split second later I was bombarded by slobbering tongues and large, soft paws that actually knocked me onto my back. I laughed, because how could you not when puppies were climbing all over you, wanting to play? Dan was laughing and assuring the owner of the dogs that she was fine, and I managed to stand up, petting six dogs (SIX) all at once. Dan thought it was the funniest thing ever, and once again, we returned home laughing and smiling and not engaged.  
I was losing patience by then. Did some greater force not want me to marry Dan? I didn’t think that was possible; everyone I had ever asked or even met said we were perfect together. I thought so, too.  
So I came up with one last attempt at a perfect proposal. BBC.  
It may not seem too romantic, asking your boyfriend to marry you live in front of the world. But I knew Dan would love it. I actually couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it sooner, it was so simple. I’d just ask him during the 7 Second Challenge, of course.  
I hadn’t planned on him winning, however. Who in the world could recite their ABC’s backwards in seven seconds? I was so ready to ask, too, that I decided I would just do it off the air. Not as romantic, but we both loved our jobs at BBC and our coworkers would love it, too, and I was just ready to propose to Dan. So as All Star blared throughout the studio, I led Dan away from the cameras, grinning at the smug expression on his face.  
“We’re going to lose subscribers on YouTube because of this song, you know.”  
He rolled his eyes, still smirking. “As I have said before, they are all dirty little memers and they love it. Especially you,” he added, leaning in and surprising me with a kiss. I leaned into him as well, planning on popping the question as soon as we stopped for air.  
“What the hell?”  
We both turned to see a woman-a new member of the team, I guessed-glaring at us. Uh oh.  
She turned angrily to Janice, one of our friends at BBC and one of the nicest people I’d ever met.  
“No one told me I would be working with gays,” she spit the word between her teeth, making me flinch. Dan looked mad, and alarms were going off in my brain, telling me to get out get out get out.  
“Linda, there’s no reason to-”  
Linda was fuming, not taking Janice’s calm, soothing tone as a signal to calm down.  
“There absolutely is!” She turned to me and Dan, her eyes blazing. “You two need to think about other people’s feelings, and not show this,” she looked us up and down, “display of improper work etiquette in front of your coworkers, especially.”  
I was looking down at my shoes, just wanting her to leave, but Dan was glaring defiantly back at her. I silently begged him not to respond, but he was Dan and that just wasn’t going to happen.  
“Excuse me, we’re showing improper work etiquette? You’re telling people off like you’re the boss when you literally haven’t been here a day, but we’re improper?”  
“Dan,” I muttered, reaching out and grabbing his arm, trying to calm him down. But he wasn’t having it.  
“We’re not doing anything to hurt you, and you could have just asked us to stop or cleared your throat or something. But you threw out an insult, which is a personal attack and we can both file a complaint. So please, if you don’t mind, you’ve upset my boyfriend and we’re leaving. Have a good day.”  
Taking my hand and marching right past Linda, Dan led us out the door, but not before I heard Janice say, very quietly, “I’m sorry, Linda, but he’s right. You’re fired.”  
The ride home on the subway was silent, and I could tell Dan was still upset. He kept clenching and unclenching his hands, breathing slowly and distinctly. I ran my hand over the little ring box that had been in my pocket for far too long, sighing.  
Dan slammed the door behind us when we got home, going into the lounge without a word. I put tea on, walking in and sitting next to him on the sofa. He was staring blankly at the TV, which was playing a rerun of Doctor Who, his jaw set.  
“Dan,” I said quietly, and his eyes flicked to me.  
“Please don’t be so upset. It was to be expected; some people are just like that.”  
He shook his head, and I took his hand in mind, looking at it instead of his face.  
“No, Phil. If we don’t say something they keep on thinking they can be rude. And they can’t. It isn’t right.”  
“I know,” I sighed, laying back on the sofa cushion. Dan laid with me, his head on my chest, and I ran my hand through his hair, over and over and over, soothing us both.  
“Dan?” I asked, just as he said, “Phil?”  
“Will you marry me?”  
I couldn’t believe we both asked the exact same thing, at the exact same time. He jolted up, looking at me wide-eyed as my mouth fell open slightly. We stared at each other for a moment before I reached into my pocket, getting down on one knee and forgetting my entire speech that I had been practicing for weeks. I just talked, improvising like I did most things in my life.  
“Dan, I’ve been trying to ask you to marry me for weeks. Things keep getting in the way-the waiter at the Japanese restaurant, the girl with the dogs in the park, and then today, at the radio station-so I’m asking now, before a meteor hits London or something. Dan Howell, I can’t think of another person I’d rather spend the rest of forever with; will you marry me?”  
With tears in his eyes, Dan nodded, taking a moment to compose himself before sliding onto the floor as well, pulling a similar box out of his pocket.  
“Phil, of all the things I had planned for this moment, propose-jinxing you was the last on the list. I love you more than I can explain, more than you know, and if I didn’t get to spend the rest of my life with you, I wouldn’t want to live. You are my life. Phil Lester, will you marry me?”  
I laughed, sobbing and smiling and nodding all at once. We somehow managed to put each others ring on the others finger-mine ruby and diamond on his, his sapphire and diamond on mine-and we wrapped our arms around each other, both crying and not even trying to hide it. When we had calmed down enough to speak, I leaned back, laughing at our boxes that were sitting on the couch.  
“This is what happens when we try to be smooth.”  
Dan snorted, turning his hand this way and that to make the ring catch the light.  
“I know. I guess we both need to return one ring each. What a story that’ll be.”  
“At least we finally have one to tell.”  
Dan grinned, nodding in agreement. “Finally.”  
***  
Dan  
Phil and I had been engaged for 6 months now, and today was the big day. Our friends split the responsibilities of getting us ready, sticking with the tradition (if you can call it that) of the couple who was getting married not seeing each other before the ceremony. I didn’t like it, but Phil played along, kissing me that night before Louise, PJ, and Jack forced him out the door, grinning at my pout.  
“I love you, Dan; don’t get cold feet on me.”  
I rolled my eyes, kissing him back and watching our friends drag him out the door. I couldn’t sleep that night, whether it was from nerves or because Phil wasn’t beside me, I didn’t know.  
Now I was sitting in front of a giant mirror in Louise’s house, where we had chose to have the wedding, with Cat struggling to straighten my hair. My ‘prep team’ consisted of Tyler, Chris, and Cat, and the only person who was freaking out as much as me was Tyler. Except that he was externally freaking out, while I was calmly sitting there trying not to throw up.  
“Dan, sweetie, you’re going to have to look left if you don’t want partially wavy hair.”  
I did as Cat said, since this was my idea and she was just being nice and trying to help. But I couldn’t make myself sit completely still, and every once in awhile she’d let out a small sigh, but didn’t scold me. Chris was silently waiting for her to finish so he could help me put on my tie (like I had a clue how to do it myself-that was Phil’s expertise), and Tyler was chattering excitedly to my right.  
“Dan, I can’t believe you guys are finally doing this!” he gushed. “We’ve been waiting forever.”  
I chuckled, and Cat tilted my head to face the right, so I was looking right at Tyler.  
“We’ve been waiting for a long time, too.”  
After Cat had finished my hair and Chris had straightened my tie out, they led me to the door, and we waited. I will admit, I was resisting the urge to run. There was a huge crowd of people out there, and if I made an idiot of myself during the vows it would be humiliating, and if I kept sweating my damn hair would curl and-  
“Dan.”  
I looked at Chris, who was smiling at me with a slight expression of amusement on his face, mixed with what I could only call his best friend look. His voice was soft, and Cat and Tyler were too busy talking to pay attention.  
“Phil’s going to be out there. And he doesn’t care about anything today but you. So take a deep breath and calm down. You’ve got this.”  
I smiled, nodding my thanks, and I heard the first chords of the wedding march start up. My heart beat faster as well, scaring me a little, and I let out a shaky breath and tried not to panic.  
The first part of the ceremony went according to plan, thankfully. I sort of stumbled on my way to the stage at the front of the room, and the only thing that kept me from completely freaking out was Phil. I was glad they had him go first; as cowardly as it sounds, I couldn’t have gone up there all alone. But I kept my eyes locked with his, and before I knew it, I was standing beside him. Our officiant began the opening words of the procession, and I had been so focused on remembering what I was going to say that I didn’t hear him tell Phil to start the vows off.  
As Phil began to speak, I wondered what he would say. We hadn’t told each other what we had written for our vows, so I hadn’t expected tears to suddenly form in Phil’s eyes, enhanced by the blue tie he was wearing to compliment my red one.  
“Dan Howell, I promise to love you for the rest of forever. Whether that will be next week or next year or 70 years from now, I will love you every second of it and longer. I hope that we get to spend as long as possible together, because it’s been seven years now and I’ve loved you every second of them. You’re impossible not to love, and I don’t think I’ll ever find another person that makes me as happy as you do. I promise that no matter what happens, I’ll be there for you, and I’ll love you through it.”  
We were both silently crying, and I was surprised that my voice rang out loud and clear around the room, since I felt like my heart was in my throat. I didn’t look away from Phil as I spoke, but held onto his blue gaze like an anchor, grounding me when I felt like I was soaring.  
“Phil Lester, you may not believe it, but until I met you I didn’t believe in love. Love was a myth, a story, and only existed in movies and books and other people’s lives. And when I first met you, and loved you, I promised myself that feeling would never go away. I didn’t believe it then, but I do now, and I have for seven years. Phil, I promise that no matter what you may think, I love you more than you could possibly know. You are the greatest human being I have ever met, and I’m astounded that you love me as much as I love you. I promise I will make sure loving me is worth your time, and until the day I have to leave you or you have to leave me and longer, I will always love you.”  
I was finally able to hear the officiant, and when he pronounced us married and Phil’s lips met mine, the room shuddered with the sound of the applause.  
I guess Tyler had been right. Everyone had been waiting for this moment for too long, and it had finally come.  
Finally.


End file.
